Touch controller having increased sensing sensitivity, and display driving circuit and display device and system having the touch controller

ABSTRACT

A touch controller includes a touch data generator that is connected to a plurality of sensing lines, the touch data generator sensing a change in capacitance of a sensing unit connected to each of the sensing lines and generating touch data by processing the sensing signal corresponding to the result of sensing; and a signal processor that controls a timing of generating the touch data by receiving at least one piece of timing information for driving a display panel from a timing controller, and then providing either the timing information or a signal generated from the timing information as a control signal to the touch data generator.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/477,176, filedMay 22, 2012, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/608,372, filed Oct. 29, 2009, in which priority under 35 U.S.C. §119is made to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0107294 filed on Oct.30, 2008, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0023042, filed on Mar.18, 2009, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0099318, filed onOct. 19, 2009, the entirety of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

The inventive concepts relate to a touch controller, and moreparticularly, to a touch controller having increased sensingsensitivity, and a display driving circuit and a display device andsystem including the touch controller.

As a consequence of the need for thinner and lighter display devices,flat display devices have replaced cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Examples offlat display devices are LCDs, field emission displays (FEDs), organiclight emitting diodes (OLEDs), and plasma display panels (PDPs).

In general, such flat display devices include a plurality of pixels thatare arranged in a matrix in order to display an image. In an LCD whichis an example of flat display device, a plurality of scan lines thatdeliver a gate selection signal and a plurality of data lines thatdeliver gratin data are arranged to intersect one another, whereby aplurality of pixels are formed where the scan lines and the data linesintersect one another.

A touch screen panel, e.g., a capacitive touch screen panel, includes aplurality of sensing units. If a user touches a screen of the touchscreen panel with his/her finger or a touch pen, a capacitance value ofa corresponding sensing unit changes. In general, the touch screen panelis attached to an upper part of a flat display device, and when a user'sfinger or a touch pen approaches or touches the sensing units of thetouch screen panel, the capacitance value of a corresponding sensingunit is provided to a touch screen processor. The touch screen processorsenses a capacitance of the corresponding sensing unit by using thesensing lines, and determines whether the touch screen panel is touchedwith a user's finger or a touch pen or determines the touched locationon the touch screen panel. The sensing units may be included in adisplay panel in order to minimize a reduction in yield and brightnessand an increase in the thickness of the display panel, caused when thetouch screen panel is attached to the display panel.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general touch screen system 10. Referringto FIG. 1, the touch screen system includes a touch screen panel 11having a plurality of sensing units and a signal processor 12 thatsenses and processes a change in a capacitance of each of the sensingunits and then generates touch data.

The touch screen panel 11 includes a plurality of sensing units disposedin a row and a plurality of sensing units disposed in a column.Referring to FIG. 1, the touch screen panel 11 includes a plurality ofrows in which a plurality of sensing units are disposed, in which aplurality of sensing units are arranged in each of the rows. Theplurality of sensing units arranged in each of the rows are electricallyconnected to one another. Also, the touch screen panel 11 includes aplurality of columns in which a plurality of sensing units are disposed,in which a plurality of sensing units are arranged in each of thecolumns. The plurality of sensing units arranged in each of the columnsare electrically connected to one another.

The signal processor 12 generates the touch data by sensing a change inthe capacitance of each of the plurality of sensing units of the touchscreen panel 11. For example, signal processor 12 may sense a change inthe capacitance of each of the plurality of sensing units in theplurality of rows and in the plurality of columns in order to determinewhether the touch screen panel 11 is touched with a user's finger or atouch pen, or to determine the touched location on the touch screenpanel 11.

However, the plurality of sensing units of the touch screen panel 11contain a parasitic capacitance component. Such a parasitic capacitancecomponent may be classified into a horizontal parasitic capacitancecomponent generated between a plurality of sensing units and a verticalparasitic capacitance component generated between a sensing unit and adisplay panel. If the whole parasitic capacitance has a large value, achange in the capacitance of a sensing unit touched by a user's fingeror a touch pen has a relatively small value, compared to the value ofthe whole parasitic capacitance. The closer the user's finger or thetouch pen approaches the sensing unit, the greater the capacitance valueof the sensing unit. However, when the sensing unit has a largeparasitic capacitance value, the sensing sensitivity of the sensing unitis lowered. Also, a change in an electrode voltage VCOM applied onto thedisplay panel may cause a sensing noise to occur during the touching ofthe sensing unit through the vertical parasitic capacitance component.

In addition, the performance of the touch screen system 11 may beaffected by various noise factors which are generated in an undesirableenvironment. Examples of the various noise factors are anelectromagnetic noise in the air, a skin accumulated noise, and a noisegenerated in the touch screen system 10. Such noises may degrade thesensing sensitivity of the touch screen system 10.

SUMMARY

The inventive concept provides a touch controller in which a sensingunit is affected less by a parasitic capacitance component and a noise,and a display driving circuit and a display device and system includingthe touch controller.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided atouch controller that includes a touch data generator connected to aplurality of sensing lines, the touch data generator sensing a change incapacitance of a sensing unit connected to each of the sensing lines andgenerating touch data by processing a sensing signal indicative of asensed change in the capacitance, responsive to a control signal; and asignal processor controlling a timing of generating the touch dataresponsive to at least one piece of timing information for driving adisplay panel as provided from a timing controller, the signal processorproviding either the timing information or a signal generated from thetiming information as the control signal to the touch data generator.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda display driving circuit including a display panel driving circuit unitincluding a timing controller generating at least one piece of timinginformation for driving a display panel; and a touch controller disposedto sense whether a touch screen panel is touched, the touch controllergenerating a sensing signal by sensing a change in capacitance of asensing unit on the touch screen panel and processing the sensingsignal, the touch controller including a touch data generator generatingthe sensing signal by sensing the change in the capacitance of thesensing unit via a sensing line, and generating touch data by processingthe sensing signal, responsive to a control signal, and a signalprocessor controlling a timing of generating the touch data responsiveto the timing information from the timing controller and supplyingeither the timing information or a signal generated from the timinginformation as the control signal to the touch data generator.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda display panel including a display panel displaying an imagecorresponding to received image data; a touch screen panel having aplurality of sensing units, a capacitance value of each of the sensingunits varies according to a touching operation; a display panel drivingcircuit unit connected to the display panel to drive the display panel,the display panel driving circuit unit including a timing controller forgenerating timing information related to a displaying operation; and atouch controller connected to the touch screen panel to sense whetherthe touch screen panel is touched, the touch controller generating touchdata based on the result of the sensing and controlling a timing ofgenerating the touch data according to the timing information.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda touch controller including a voltage reading circuit reading firstvoltages from a plurality of sensing units connected to a plurality ofsensing lines, respectively; a first amplification circuit offsettinginfluences in the read first voltages caused by a capacitance componentgenerated in each of the plurality of sensing units, amplifying theresultant first voltages, and then outputting second voltages, and anintegration circuit integrating the second voltages.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda display device including a panel unit including a plurality of sensingunits performing a touch screen operation; a display driving circuitunit receiving at least one piece of first timing information from anexternal host, and generating image data to display an image on thepanel unit; and a touch controller connected to the plurality of sensingunits to sense a change in capacitances of the plurality of sensingunits, the touch controller generating touch data from at least oneselected from the at least one piece of first timing information and aplurality of pieces of timing information generated by the displaydriving circuit unit.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda display system including a host controller; a panel unit including aplurality of sensing units performing a touch screen operation; adisplay driving unit receiving at least one piece of first timinginformation from the host controller, and generating image data todisplay an image on the panel unit; and a touch controller connected tothe plurality of sensing units to sense a change in capacitances of theplurality of sensing units, the touch controller generating touch databased on at least one of the first timing information and timinginformation generated by the display driving circuit unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will be more clearlyunderstood from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general touch screen panel system;

FIG. 2A illustrates a parasitic capacitance component generated in eachof a plurality of sensing units of a touch screen panel according to anembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 2B is a graph showing a change in the capacitance of a sensing unitillustrated in FIG. 2A when the sensing unit is touched;

FIG. 2C is a graph showing a change in the capacitance of a sensing unitillustrated in FIG. 2A when a sensing unit is touched and a noise isgenerated;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are block diagrams of a touch controller accordingto embodiments of the inventive concept;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are waveform diagrams of various signals for generatingthe control signal ctrl illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C, according toembodiments of the inventive concept;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B and 8A-8D are circuit diagrams and graphsillustrating various embodiments of a touch data generator according tothe inventive concept;

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are block and circuit diagrams of a touch datagenerator according to embodiments of the inventive concept;

FIG. 9C is a circuit diagram of an integration circuit that is anotherembodiment of an integration circuit illustrated in FIG. 9A according tothe inventive concept;

FIG. 9D is a waveform diagram illustrating an input signal Vin and atiming of turning on the switches SW1 to SWn of FIG. 9B according to anembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 9E is a waveform diagram of various signals supplied to the touchcontroller of FIG. 9B according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 9F is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of theintegration circuit of FIG. 9B according to an embodiment of theinventive concept;

FIG. 9G is a graph showing a variation in an integration voltage of theintegration circuit of FIG. 9B according to embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 10A is a circuit diagram of another embodiment of the integrationcircuit included in the touch data generator of FIG. 9B, according tothe inventive concept;

FIG. 10B is a waveform diagram of an output voltage Vout and the voltagereference signal Vref used in the integration circuit of FIG. 10A, andan input signal Vin, according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a touch controller according to anotherembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 12A is a block diagram of a general LCD that includes a pluralityof touch controllers according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 12B is a block diagram of a general LCD that includes a touchcontroller according to another embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit (IC), in which atouch controller and a display driving unit are integrated together,according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate an interrelation between a touch controllerand a display driving unit as illustrated in FIG. 13.

FIGS. 15A to 15C illustrate embodiments of a printed circuit board (PCB)structure of a display device that includes a touch panel, according tothe inventive concept;

FIG. 15D illustrates the panel structure of the display deviceillustrated in FIG. 15A, 15B, or 15C, according to an embodiment of theinventive concept;

FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate embodiments of a PCB structure of a displaydevice 800, in which a touch panel and a display panel are unitedtogether, according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 16D illustrates the panel structure of the display deviceillustrated in FIG. 16A, 16B, or 16C, according to another embodiment ofthe inventive concept;

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate the structure of a semiconductor chip thatincludes a touch controller and a display driving circuit unit, and thestructure of an FPCB according to embodiments of the inventive concept;and

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate embodiments of a display device having asemiconductor chip in which a touch controller and a display drivingcircuit are included, according to the inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Likereference numerals denote like elements throughout the drawings.

FIG. 2A illustrates a parasitic capacitance component generated in eachof a plurality of sensing units SU of a touch screen panel 21 accordingto an embodiment of the inventive concept. FIG. 2B is a graph showing achange in the capacitance of a sensing unit SU illustrated in FIG. 2Awhen the sensing unit is touched. FIG. 2C is a graph showing a change inthe capacitance of a sensing unit SU illustrated in FIG. 2A when thesensing unit is touched and a noise is generated.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the touch screen panel 21 includes the pluralityof sensing units SU. The plurality of sensing units SU may be arrangednear or on a display panel 22 that displays an image. For example, thereference numeral ‘22’ may denote an upper plate of a display panel towhich a predetermined electrode voltage VCOM is applied. The displaypanel having the upper plate 22 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD)panel, to which the electrode voltage VCOM may be applied as a commonelectrode voltage. If the display panel is an organic light-emittingdisplay panel, a cathode electrode having a direct-current (DC) voltagemay be applied to an upper plate thereof.

The touch screen panel 21 includes a plurality of sensing units SUconnected to a plurality of sensing lines arranged in a row (in anx-axis direction) and a plurality of sensing units SU connected to aplurality of sensing lines arranged in a column (in an y-axisdirection). If a user's finger or a touch pen approaches or touches anyof the sensing units SU, a capacitance value of the particular sensingunit SU is changed. Whether the touch screen panel 21 is touched, andthe touched location on the touch screen panel 21, may be determined bygenerating a sensing signal by sensing a change in the capacitance valueof each of the sensing units by using the plurality of sensing lines andthen processing the sensing signal.

Parasitic capacitance components are present due to an arrangement ofthe plurality of sensing units SU. For example, the parasiticcapacitance components include a horizontal parasitic capacitancecomponent Ch generated between adjacent sensing units and a verticalparasitic capacitance component Cv generated between a sensing unit andthe display panel 22. If a parasitic capacitance value is greater thanthe value of a capacitance component generated when a user's finger or atouch pen approaches or touches a sensing unit, even when thecapacitance value of the sensing unit is changed by touching the sensingunit, the sensing sensitivity of the touching is lowered.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the sensing unit SU contains a basic capacitancecomponent Cb including a parasitic capacitance component, and acapacitance value of the sensing unit SU is changed when an object,e.g., a user's finger or a touch pen, approaches or touches the sensingunit SU. For example, when a conductive object approaches or touches thesensing unit SU, the capacitance value of the sensing unit SU increases.Referring to FIG. 2B, in a section A, the capacitance value of thesensing unit SU is Cb since the conductive object does not approach thesensing unit SU; in a section B, the conductive object touches thesensing unit SU; and in a section C, the conductive object approachesthe sensing unit SU. Referring to FIG. 2B, the capacitance value of Cbmay increase by a degree Csig when the conductive object touches thesensing unit SU and may increase by a degree Csig′ that is less than thedegree Csig when the conductive object approaches the sensing unit SU.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the capacitance value of the sensing unit SUmay be affected greatly when various noises are present. In this case, aprocessor or controller (not shown) cannot determine precisely whetheran object touches the sensing unit SU and the touched location on thesensing unit SU by simply checking whether the capacitance value of thesensing unit SU increases or decreases, thereby greatly degrading thesensing sensitivity of a touch screen device.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are block diagrams of a touch controller 110according to embodiments of the inventive concept. Here, a displaydriving circuit 120 that drives a display panel (not shown) to displayan image and a host controller 130 that controls the overall operationsof the touch controller 110, are further illustrated in order to helpexplain the operation of the touch controller 110.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the touch controller 110 may include a signalprocessor 111 and a touch data generator 112. The display drivingcircuit 120 may include a timing controller 121 that controls an imageto be displayed on the display panel, a gate driver 122, and a sourcedriver 123.

The signal processor 111 controls the overall operations of internalcircuits of the touch controller 110 in relation to a touch screenoperation. Although not shown, the touch data generator 112 iselectrically connected to a plurality of sensing units SU via sensinglines and generates a sensing signal by sensing a change in thecapacitance of each of the plurality of sensing units SU when they aretouched. Also, the touch data generator 112 generates and outputs touchdata data by processing the sensing signal. The signal processor 111 orthe host controller 130 performs a logic operation based on the touchdata data, and determines whether a touch screen (not shown) is touchedand the touched location on the touch screen.

The touch controller 110 receives at least one piece of timinginformation Timing info for driving a display panel (not shown), and mayuse the timing information Timing info in order to generate the touchdata data. The timing information Timing info may be generated by eitherthe timing controller 121 included in the display driving circuit 120 ordirectly by the host controller 130. FIG. 3A illustrates that the timinginformation Timing info is generated by the timing controller 121 andthe touch controller 110 receives the timing information Timing infofrom the timing controller 121. The signal processor 111 receives the atleast one piece of timing information Timing info and transmits acontrol signal ctrl based on the at least one piece of timinginformation Timing info to the touch data generator 112.

The control signal ctrl may be generated based on a wave form of thetiming information Timing info. The control signal ctrl may be generateddirectly by the timing controller 121 and provided to the signalprocessor 111, or the signal processor 111 may generate the controlsignal ctrl from the timing information Timing info received from thetiming controller 121. Also, as described above, the host controller 130may generate the timing information Timing info, and similarly, thecontrol signal ctrl may be generated by the host controller 130 andprovided to the touch controller 110. If the host controller 130generates the control signal ctrl, the control signal ctrl may besupplied to the signal processor 111 or may be supplied directly to thetouch data generator 112. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the signalprocessor 111 generates the control signal ctrl as illustrated in FIGS.3A to 3C.

The timing controller 121 generates at least one signal for controllinga timing of displaying an image. For example, the timing controller 121may receive a vertical synchronization signal Vsync and a horizontalsynchronization signal Hsync directly from the external host controller130, or may generate the vertical synchronization signal Vsync and thehorizontal synchronization signal Hsync based on a data enable signal(not shown) received from the host controller 130. Also, the timingcontroller 121 may control generation of a common electrode voltage,e.g., an electrode voltage VCOM, and generation of a gate line signal bygenerating at least one timing signal.

The signal processor 111 generates the control signal ctrl insynchronization with the at least one piece of timing information Timinginfo received from the timing controller 121, and supplies the controlsignal ctrl to the touch data generator 112 in order to control a timingof generating the touch data data. That is, if a voltage applied to thedisplay panel, e.g., a common electrode voltage applied to an upperplate of the display panel, changes, then a noise may be contained in asensing signal. Accordingly, the signal processor 111 controls the touchdata data to be generated during a period when the voltage is in astable state.

The touch controller 110 and the display driving circuit 120 may beintegrated in one semiconductor chip. That is, in an embodiment of theinventive concept, the touch controller 110 receives at least one pieceof timing information Timing info from the display driving circuit 120and performs an operation in synchronization with the timing informationTiming info, the timing information Timing info may be transmitted via awire interconnecting the touch controller 110 and the display drivingcircuit 120 in one semiconductor chip.

FIGS. 3B and 3C are block diagrams illustrating various ways ofgenerating the touch data data illustrated in FIG. 3A according toembodiments of the inventive concept. FIG. 3B illustrates a case wherethe touch controller 110 receives information control/timing related toa timing of driving a display panel (not shown) directly from the hostcontroller 130. In this case, the timing controller 121 may skipgenerating timing information Timing info based on the informationcontrol/timing received from the host controller 130 and supplying it tothe touch controller 110. The signal processor 111 receives theinformation control/timing from the host controller 130, generates acontrol signal ctrl based on the information control/timing, andsupplies the control signal ctrl to the touch data generator 112.

FIG. 3C illustrates a case where information generated by a timingcontroller 121 and information generated by the host controller 130 aremultiplexed into timing information Timing info and the timinginformation Timing info is supplied to the touch controller 110. To thisend, a selection unit 140 that allows a signal to be selectivelysupplied may be disposed between the touch controller 110 and thedisplay driving circuit 120 illustrated in FIG. 3C. For example, theselection unit 140 may be embodied as a multiplexer (MUX). The selectionunit 140 may be disposed between the touch controller 110 and thedisplay driving circuit 120 or may be disposed before a signal processor111 included in the touch controller 110. The selection unit 140selectively outputs the information generated by the timing controller121 or the information generated by the host controller 130, in responseto a predetermined control signal (not shown). In this case, if thedisplay driving circuit 120 operates in a normal mode, the informationgenerated by the timing controller 121 may be supplied to the touchcontroller 110. If the display driving circuit 120 enters a power downmode, e.g., a sleep mode, the information generated by the hostcontroller 130 may be supplied to the touch controller 110.

FIG. 4A is a waveform diagram of various signals for generating thecontrol signal ctrl illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C, according to anembodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 4A, a horizontalsynchronization signal Hsync is activated after a verticalsynchronization signal Vsync is activated. A logic level of a commonelectrode voltage, e.g., an electrode voltage VCOM, changes insynchronization with the horizontal synchronization signal Hsync. Thecontrol signal ctrl may be generated from at least one of various typesof timing information, e.g., the vertical or horizontal synchronizationsignal Hsync or Vsync, timing information for generating a commonelectrode voltage, DotCLK information). A timing of generating touchdata data is controlled according to a timing of activating the controlsignal ctrl, and a noise may be prevented from being generated in thetouch data data, caused by a change in an electrode applied to a displaypanel.

FIG. 4B is a waveform diagram of various signals for generating thecontrol signal ctrl illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C, according to anotherembodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 4B, a porchsection in which a horizontal synchronization signal Hsync is notactivated, is present before and after a section in which a verticalsynchronization signal Vsync is activated. A common electrode voltageapplied to a display panel is controlled not to change during the porchsection. In this case, it is possible to reduce a noise generated due toa change in a voltage applied to a display panel by activating thecontrol signal ctrl in the porch section of the vertical synchronizationsignal Vsync.

FIGS. 5A to 8D are circuit diagrams and graphs illustrating variousembodiments of a touch data generator according to the inventiveconcept. In detail, FIGS. 5A to 8D illustrate methods of reducinginfluences caused by a vertical or horizontal parasitic capacitancecomponents present in a sensing unit by using an amplification circuit,according to embodiments of the inventive concept.

Specifically, FIG. 5A is a circuit diagram of a touch data generator210A, such as the touch data generator 112 of FIG. 3A, according to anembodiment of the inventive concept. FIG. 5B is a graph showingfrequency characteristics of an amplifier AMP included in the touch datagenerator 210A of FIG. 5A according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept. Referring to FIG. 5A, the touch data generator 210A includes anamplification circuit 211A that is connected to a sensing unit SU andgenerates a sensing signal Vout corresponding to a change in thecapacitance of the sensing unit SU. The touch data generator 210A mayfurther include a signal output unit 212A that receives the sensingsignal Vout and outputs the sensing signal Vout in response to a controlsignal ctrl, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 213A that receivesan analog signal from the signal output unit 212A and converts theanalog signal into a digital signal. The signal output unit 212A may bea sample/hold circuit that retains the sensing signal Vout and outputsthe sensing signal Vout in response to the control signal ctrl.

The amplification circuit 211A includes at least one amplifier AMP.Although not shown, the at least one amplifier AMP may include aplurality of amplifiers respectively connected to a plurality of sensinglines arranged in a plurality of rows and columns in a touch screenpanel. Otherwise, the amplifier AMP may be constructed such that theamplifier AMP is switched to be connected with one of the plurality ofsensing lines, so that the amplifier AMP may be shared by the pluralityof sensing lines. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 5A illustrates acase where one amplifier AMP is connected to one sensing line.

A first input terminal, e.g., an inversion input terminal (−) of theamplifier AMP is connected to the sensing unit SU in order to sense achange in the capacitance of the sensing unit SU. As illustrated in FIG.5A, the capacitance of the sensing unit SU may include a parasiticcapacitance component, e.g., a horizontal parasitic capacitancecomponent Ch, and a capacitance variation Csig caused when the sensingunit SU is touched.

An input signal Vin having a predetermined frequency is supplied to asecond input terminal of the amplifier AMP. The input signal Vin may bea signal, e.g., a square-wave or sinusoidal-wave signal having apredetermined pulse cycle. The logic level and frequency of the inputsignal Vin may be adjusted appropriately. The frequency of the inputsignal Vin may fall within a pass band of the amplifier AMP havinghigh-pass filtering characteristics. Although not shown, adirect-current (DC) voltage (e.g., ground voltage) signal may besupplied to second input terminals of amplifiers connected to thesensing lines other than the sensing line that performs a sensingoperation. Thus, referring to FIG. 5A, one node of the horizontalparasitic capacitance component Ch is represented as being applied to aground voltage.

A capacitor Cf may be connected between the first input terminal and anoutput terminal of the amplifier AMP, and a predetermined resistor Rfmay further connected between the first input terminal and the outputterminal of the amplifier AMP to be parallel to the capacitor Cf.Accordingly, the amplifier AMP may act as a high-pass filter having apredetermined voltage gain.

The amplifier AMP generates the sensing signal Vout, the voltage levelof which varies according to a change in the capacitance of the sensingunit SU. FIG. 5B illustrates the pass-band characteristics and voltagegain of the amplifier AMP. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the frequency ofthe input signal Vin may be greater than

$\frac{1}{2\; {\pi C}_{f}R_{f}}.$

If the frequency of the input signal Vin falls within the pass band ofthe amplifier AMP, the gain of the amplifier AMP is calculated by anumerical formula,

$20\; {{\log_{10}( {1 + \frac{C_{h} + {\Delta \; C}}{C_{f}}} )}.}$

When as expressed in the above equation, the capacitance of the sensingunit SU changes when the sensing unit SU is touched, the logic level ofthe sensing signal Vout generated by the amplifier AMP is changedaccording to the change in the capacitance of the sensing unit SU. Theamplifier AMP generates the sensing signal Vout corresponding to thecapacitance value of the sensing unit SU in an analog manner. Whetherthe touch screen panel is touched, or the touched location on the touchscreen panel, may be determined by sensing a change in the voltage ofthe sensing signal Vout.

The control signal ctrl may be generated using at least one piece oftiming information and may be used in order to generate touch data datausing the sensing signal Vout. The signal output unit 212A receives thesensing signal Vout from the amplification circuit 211A, retains thesensing signal Vout, and supplies the sensing signal Vout to the ADC213A in response to the activated control signal ctrl. The ADC 213Agenerates the touch data data by converting the sensing signal Vout thatis an analog signal into a digital signal, and supplies the convertedresult to the outside.

As described above, whether a touch screen is touched, and the touchedlocation on the touch screen, may be determined by performing a sensingoperation and generating the touch data data. Also, generation of anoise caused by a change in a voltage applied to a display panel may beminimized by controlling a timing of generating the touch data data inresponse to the control signal ctrl.

However, if the value of the parasitic capacitance component Ch betweena plurality of sensing units SU is increased, then the gain of theamplifier AMP is also increased. In this case, the capacitor Cfconnected between the first input terminal and the output terminal ofthe amplifier AMP should have a large value in order for the level ofthe voltage output from the amplifier AMP to be in a predetermined range(e.g., within the voltage range in which a system can operate). However,if the capacitance of the capacitor Cf has a large value, a change inthe voltage of the amplifier AMP, i.e., a ratio Csig/Cf of thecapacitance variation Csig to the value of the capacitor Cf, when thetouch screen panel is touched becomes small, thereby lowering thesensing sensitivity of the touching. The sensing lines of the touchscreen panel may be formed of a transparent conductive material, e.g.,an indium-tin oxide (ITO). Thus, when the distances between sensingunits SU are large, the sensing lines become conspicuous, and thus, thedistances between the sensing units SU should be determined to be small.However, if the distances between the sensing units are small, the valueof the horizontal parasitic capacitance component Ch generated in eachof the sensing units becomes greater, and thus, sensing sensitivity oftouching may be degraded. Various embodiments of a touch data generatorcapable of improving sensing sensitivity by reducing a parasiticcapacitance component according to the inventive concept will now bedescribed.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a touch data generator 210B includes anamplification circuit 211B that generates a sensing signal Voutcorresponding to a change in the capacitance of a sensing unit SU. Thetouch data generator 210B may further include a signal output unit 212Bthat receives the sensing signal Vout and outputs it according to acontrol signal ctrl, and an ADC 213B that generates touch data data byconverting the sensing signal Vout that is an analog signal receivedfrom the signal output unit 212B into a digital signal.

The amplification circuit 211B of FIG. 6A may increase sensingsensitivity by reducing influences caused by a horizontal capacitancecomponent Ch generated in the sensing unit SU (a parasitic capacitancecomponent between a plurality of sensing units SU). To this end, aground voltage or a DC voltage is not applied to an amplifier AMPcorresponding to a sensing line adjacent to a sensing line via which asensing operation is performed, but rather an input signal Vin isapplied to a second input terminal, e.g., a (+) terminal, of anamplifier Amp corresponding to a sensing line adjacent a sensing linevia which a sensing operation is performed.

That is, if a first electrode and second electrode of a horizontalparasitic capacitor act as a first sensing line via which a sensingoperation is performed and a second sensing line adjacent to the firstsensing line, respectively, then the same voltage is applied to thefirst sensing line and the second sensing line. In this case, thehorizontal parasitic capacitance component Ch is removed from thenumerical formula,

$20\; {\log_{10}( {1 + \frac{C_{h} + {\Delta \; C}}{C_{f}}} )}$

of calculating the gain of the amplifier AMP.

Although FIG. 6A illustrates the second electrode of the horizontalparasitic capacitor is connected directly to the corresponding secondinput terminal of the amplifier AMP, the inventive concept is notlimited thereto. Unlike as illustrated in FIG. 5A, in the currentembodiment of FIG. 6A, the input signal Vin is commonly supplied tosecond input terminals, i.e., (+) input terminals, of a plurality ofamplifiers AMP. When the input signal Vin is supplied to the secondinput terminal, i.e., the (+) input terminal, of the amplifier AMP, avoltage of the first input terminal, i.e., a (−) input terminal, of theamplifier AMP becomes equal to the voltage of the second input terminal,i.e., the (+) input terminal. That is, since the input signal Vin isalso supplied to the second input terminal of the amplifier AMPconnected to the adjacent sensing line, a voltage of the adjacentsensing line also becomes equal to the value of the input signal Vin.For this reason, the voltage the first sensing line via which a sensingoperation is performed is equal to the voltage of the second sensingline adjacent to the first sensing line, and thus, the gain of theamplifier AMP is not related to the value of the horizontal parasiticcapacitance component Ch. That is, the same voltage Vin is applied tosensing lines adjacent to each other, in order to reduce the influencescaused by a horizontal parasitic capacitance component in the sensingunit.

FIG. 6B is a graph showing the frequency characteristics of theamplifier AMP of FIG. 6A according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept. As described above, the frequency of an input signal Vin isdetermined to fall within a pass band of the amplifier AMP. That is, thefrequency of the input signal Vin may be determined to be greater than

$\frac{1}{2\; {\pi C}_{f}R_{f}}$

illustrated in FIG. 6B. Also, the gain of the amplifier AMP of FIG. 6Ais equal to

$20\; {{\log_{10}( {1 + \frac{Csig}{C_{f}}} )}.}$

That is, the gain of the amplifier AMP is not related to the value of ahorizontal parasitic capacitance component Ch connected to acorresponding sensing line.

Even if the value of a horizontal parasitic capacitance component Chpresent in a sensing line of a touch screen panel increases, the gain ofthe amplifier AMP is not changed. Thus, the capacitance value of thecapacitor Cf of FIG. 6A does not need to be increased so that the gainof the amplifier AMP falls within a predetermined range. Accordingly, itis possible to appropriately increase the ratio Csig/Cf that representssensing sensitivity and to improve the sensing sensitivity of thecapacitance variation Csig when touching is made.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are circuit diagrams illustrating in detail the touchdata generator 210B of FIG. 6A. For convenience of explanation, thesignal output circuit 212B and the ADC 213B included in the touch datagenerator 210B are not illustrated here.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the touch data generator 210B may include aplurality of amplifiers, e.g., a first amplifier AMP1 to a thirdamplifier AMP3, which are connected to a plurality of sensing lines,e.g., a first sensing line SL1 to a third sensing line SL3,respectively. The first and third amplifiers AMP1 to AMP3 sense a changein the capacitances of sensing units (not shown) corresponding theretoand generate first to third sensing signals Vout1 to Vout3 correspondingto the sensed changes, respectively. First to third capacitors Cf1 toCf3 and first to third resistors Rf1 to Rf3 may be connected in parallelbetween first input terminals, e.g., (−) input terminals, and outputterminals of the respective first to third amplifiers AMP1 to AMP3.

Also, an input signal Vin having a predetermined frequency is commonlysupplied to the second input terminal, e.g., the (+) input terminals) ofthe first to third amplifiers AMP1 to AMP3. The first to thirdamplifiers AMP1 to AMP3 correspond to and are connected to the first tothird sensing lines SL1 to SL3, respectively. Thus, the first to thirdamplifiers AMP1 to AMP3 sense a change in the capacitances of thecorresponding first to third sensing lines SL1 to SL3 and generate thefirst to third sensing signals Vout1 to Vout3, respectively. In FIG. 7A,horizontal parasitic capacitance components Ch1 to Ch3 are generatedbetween the first to third sensing lines SL1 to SL3.

The operation of the touch data generator 210B will now be describedassuming that a sensing operation is performed using the second sensingline SL2. The first input terminal, e.g., the (−) input terminal, of thesecond amplifier AMP2 is connected to the second sensing line SL2, andthus, the second amplifier AMP2 generates the second sensing signalVout2 corresponding to the capacitance value of a corresponding sensingunit. The input signal Vin that is supplied to the second amplifier AMP2is also supplied to the second input terminals, i.e., the (+) inputterminals, of the first and third amplifiers AMP1 and AMP3. Voltages ofthe respective first input terminals, e.g., the (−) input terminals, ofthe first and third amplifiers AMP1 and AMP3 become equal to voltages ofthe respective second input terminals, e.g., the (+) input terminals, ofthe first and third amplifiers AMP1 and AMP3. Thus, voltages of thefirst and third sensing lines SL1 and SL3 being respectively connectedto the first input terminals, e.g., the (−) input terminals, of therespective first and third amplifiers AMP1 and AMP3 become equal to avoltage of the second sensing line SL2. Thus, voltages of adjacentsensing lines become equal to or similar to each other. Accordingly,influences caused by the horizontal capacitance components Ch1 and Ch2may be reduced as illustrated above in FIG. 6B.

FIG. 7B is a circuit diagram of a touch data generator 210B designed toperform the operation of the touch data generator of FIG. 7A, in whichone amplifier AMP is shared by first to third sensing lines SL1 to SL3,according to another embodiment of the inventive concept. The touch datagenerator 210B of FIG. 7B may further include first to third switchesSW1 to SW3 that switch connection of a first input terminal, e.g., an(−) input terminal, of the amplifier AMP between the first to thirdsensing lines SL1 to SL3, respectively, so that the first to thirdsensing lines SL1 to SL3 may be selectively connected to the first inputterminal, e.g., the (−) input terminal, of the amplifier AMP.

When a sensing operation is performed using the second sensing line SL2,the second switch SW2 is switched on to connect the second sensing lineSL2 to the first input terminal, e.g., the (−) input terminal, of theamplifier AMP. Also, the first switch SW1 connected to the first sensingline SL1 adjacent to the second sensing line SL2 is switched on toconnect the first sensing line SL1 to a line that transmits an inputsignal Vin. The third switch SW3 connected to the third sensing line SL3adjacent to the second sensing line SL2 is also switched on to connectthe third sensing line SL3 to the line that transmits the input signalVin.

Accordingly, the amplifier AMP senses a capacitance value of acorresponding sensing unit (not shown) via the second sensing line SL2and generates a sensing signal Vout according to the sensed capacitancevalue. Since the input signal Vin is supplied to the first sensing lineSL1 and the third sensing line SL3 adjacent to the second sensing lineSL2, a voltage of the second sensing line SL2 becomes equal to those ofthe first and third sensing lines SL1 and SL3. Thus, influences causedby a horizontal parasitic capacitance component Ch2 are reduced, therebyimproving sensing sensitivity of touching.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are circuit diagrams respectively illustrating touch datagenerators 210C, 210D, and 210E that are various embodiments of thetouch data generator 112 of FIG. 3A, 3B or 3C, according to theinventive concept. Referring to FIGS. 8A to 8C, the touch datagenerators 210C, 210D, and 210E further include an additional capacitor,e.g., a second capacitor Cq, in order to compensate for a parasiticcapacitance component present in a sensing unit SU. Accordingly, sensingsensitivity may be improved by removing a horizontal or verticalparasitic capacitance components present in the sensing unit SU.

Referring to FIG. 8A, the touch data generator 210C includes anamplifier AMP having a first input terminal, e.g., a (−) input terminal,which is connected to a sensing line and a second input terminal, e.g.,a (+) input terminal to which an input signal Vin is supplied. A firstcapacitor Cf and a resistor Rf may be connected in parallel between thefirst input terminal and an output terminal of the amplifier AMP.

The touch data generator 210C may further include the second capacitorCq that is connected to the sensing line and has a predeterminedcapacitance value. A first electrode of the second capacitor Cq isconnected to the sensing line and a predetermined voltage signal Vq isapplied to a second electrode of the second capacitor Cq. The polarityof electric charges induced in the second capacitor Cq is controlled tobe opposite to that of electric charges induced in a parasiticcapacitance component Ct (horizontal and vertical parasitic capacitancecomponents) present in the sensing unit SU by the capacitance of thesecond capacitor Cp and the voltage signal Vq. For example, if electriccharges having a positive (+) polarity, which are induced in a parasiticcapacitor, are supplied to the sensing line, then electric chargesinduced in the first electrode of the second capacitor Cq is controlledto have a negative (−) polarity. Also, if the voltage signal Vq suppliedto the second electrode of the second capacitor Cq may be synchronizedwith the input signal Vin supplied to the second input terminal of theamplifier AMP, and in this case, the value of the voltage signal Vq maybe defined as xVin. Thus, the gain of the amplifier AMP may becalculated as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{gain} = {\frac{1 + {{s( {C_{f} + C_{t} + {Csig} + C_{q} - {xC}_{q}} )}R_{f}}}{1 + {{sC}_{f}R_{f}}}.}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

n equation of calculating the gain of the amplifier AMP in ahigh-frequency band may be obtained from Equation (1), as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{gain} = {\frac{C_{f} + C_{t} + {Csig} + C_{q} - {xC}_{q}}{C_{f}}.}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

As described above, ‘xC_(q)’ and ‘C_(f)+C_(t)+C_(q)’ expressed inEquations (1) and (2) may be controlled to be equal to or similar toeach other by adjusting the capacitance value of the second capacitor Cqand the logic level x of the voltage signal Vq. If ‘xC_(q)’ and‘C_(f)+C_(t)+C_(q)’ are equal to each other, ‘C_(f)+C_(t)+C_(q)’ and‘xC_(q)’ in Equation (2) offset each other, and thus, the gain of theamplifier AMP may become ‘Csig/C_(f)’. If ‘xC_(q)’ and‘C_(f)+C_(t)+C_(q)’ are similar to each other, sensing sensitivity isimproved. That is, a change in the gain of the amplifier AMP caused bythe parasitic capacitance component Ct may be reduced by adjusting ‘x’and ‘C_(q)’, thereby improving sensing sensitivity of a capacitancevariation Csig when touching is made. In this case, it is unnecessary toapply the same voltage to sensing lines adjacent to the sensing line onwhich a sensing operation is performed.

FIG. 8B illustrates a touch data generator 210D capable of reducinginfluences caused by interference in a sensing line due to a change in avoltage applied to a display panel (not shown) according to anotherembodiment of the inventive concept. For example, if a touch screenpanel is included in a mobile LCD, interference may occur due toalternation of an electrode voltage VCOM applied to an upper plateelectrode of a display panel.

A vertical capacitance component Cv is generated between the sensingline and the display panel. The vertical capacitance component Cvinfluences an output of the amplifier AMP due to alternation of theelectrode voltage VCOM applied to an upper plate electrode of thedisplay panel alternately. To solve this problem, the input signal Vinis supplied to the second input terminal of the amplifier AMP, insynchronization with the electrode voltage VCOM. If a swing amplitude ofthe input signal Vin is set to be less than that of the electrodevoltage VCOM, then negative (−) electric charges are gathered on anupper electrode of a vertical parasitic capacitor, e.g., an electrodeconnected to the sensing line when the input signal Vin is at logichigh. In this case, positive (+) electric charges are gathered on anupper electrode of the second capacitor Cq by adjusting appropriately acapacitance value of the second capacitor Cq and a voltage signal Vq,where the amount of the positive (+) electric charges is equal to orsimilar to the amount of the negative (−) electric charges gathered onthe vertical parasitic capacitor. Thus, an output of the amplifier AMPmay be hardly or less affected by the vertical capacitance component Cvand a variation in the electrode voltage VCOM.

If the input signal Vin and the voltage signal Vq are synchronized withthe electrode voltage VCOM, then the electrode voltage VCOM may beexpressed as ‘xVin’ and the voltage signal Vq may be expressed as‘y/Vin’. In this case, the gain of the amplifier AMP of FIG. 8B may alsobe expressed as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{gain} = {\frac{1 + {{s\lbrack ( {C_{f} + {Csig} + {( {1 - x} )C_{v}} + {( {1 - y} )C_{q}}} ) \rbrack}R_{f}}}{1 + {{sC}_{f}R_{f}}}.}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

An equation of calculating the gain of the amplifier AMP in ahigh-frequency band be obtained from Equation (3), as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{gain} = {\frac{C_{f} + {Csig} + {( {1 - x} )C_{v}} + {( {1 - y} )C_{q}}}{C_{f}}.}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

As expressed in Equation (4), influences caused by a variation in theelectrode voltage VCOM may be reduced by adjusting the capacitance valueof the second capacitor Cq and the logic level x of the voltage signalVq. For example, since the electrode voltage VCOM has a predeterminedlevel, an output of the amplifier AMP may not be influenced or beinfluenced less by a variation in the electrode voltage VCOM byoffsetting or reducing ‘C_(f)-(1−x)C_(v)+(1−y)C_(q)’ expressed inEquations (3) and (4), by adjusting the capacitance value of the secondcapacitor Cq and the level y of the voltage signal Vq. Accordingly, inaddition to reduction of influences caused by the vertical parasiticcapacitance component, influences caused by an upper plate electrodevoltage VCOM are reduced.

FIG. 8C is a circuit diagram of a touch data generator 210E that isanother embodiment of the touch data generator 112 of FIG. 3A, 3B, or 3Daccording to the inventive concept. The touch data generator 210E ofFIG. 8C includes all the features of the touch data generator 210Billustrated in FIG. 6A and the touch data generator 210D illustrated inFIG. 8B, and is capable of effectively reducing a horizontal andvertical parasitic capacitance component Ch and Cv generated in asensing unit SU. In this case, the influences caused by the horizontalparasitic capacitance component are reduced as described with respect toFIG. 6A, and the influences caused by the vertical parasitic capacitancecomponent and the voltage VCOM are reduced as described with respect toFIG. 8B. Also, although not shown, the circuit constructions of thetouch data generators 210B illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B may be appliedto the touch data generator 210E of FIG. 8C in order to effectivelyreduce the horizontal parasitic capacitance component Ch generated inthe sensing unit SU.

Referring to FIG. 8C, parasitic capacitance components generated in thesensing unit SU may include the horizontal parasitic capacitancecomponent Ch and the vertical parasitic capacitance component Cv. Avoltage of a sensing line via which a sensing operation is performed iscontrolled to be equal to a voltage of a sensing line adjacent to thesensing line via which the sensing operation is performed in order toreduce the horizontal parasitic capacitance component Ch generatedbetween adjacent sensing lines. To this end, an input voltage Vin isapplied to not only an amplifier AMP that performs a sensing operationon a predetermined sensing line but also a second input terminal ofanother amplifier AMP corresponding to a sensing line adjacent to thepredetermined sensing line. Thus, since the voltages of thepredetermined sensing line and the adjacent sensing line are equal toeach other, the amplifier AMP may be affected less by the horizontalcapacitance component Ch. FIG. 8C illustrates that one electrode of ahorizontal parasitic capacitor is connected directly to a second inputterminal of the corresponding amplifier AMP, but the inventive conceptis not limited thereto. For example, the one electrode of the horizontalparasitic capacitor may be electrically connected to a first or secondinput terminal of an amplifier AMP connected to a sensing line adjacentto the sensing line connected to the horizontal parasitic capacitor.

FIG. 8D is a circuit diagram of a voltage adjustment circuit 221 thatadjusts the logic level of a voltage signal Vq applied to the secondcapacitor Cq illustrated in FIGS. 8A to 8C, according to an embodimentof the inventive concept. The voltage adjustment circuit 221 of FIG. 8Dmay be included in the touch data generators 210C to 210E of FIGS. 8A to8C. The voltage adjustment circuit 221 may control the logic level ofthe voltage signal Vq by using an input signal Vin, a common voltageVcm, resistors Rq1 and Rq2, and so on.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are block and circuit diagrams of a touch data generator310 and 310′ according to embodiments of the inventive concept. FIG. 9Cis a circuit diagram of an integration circuit 313B that is anotherembodiment of the integration circuit 313 in FIG. 9A, according to theinventive concept. In particular, compared to the previous embodiments,the touch data generators 310 and 310′ illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9Bfurther include the integration circuit 313.

Referring to FIG. 9A, the touch data generator 310 may include a voltagereading circuit 311, an amplification circuit 312, an integrationcircuit 313, and an ADC circuit 314.

Although not shown, the voltage reading circuit 311 reads a voltageVread output from each of a plurality of sensing units connected to aplurality of sensing lines included in a touch screen panel. Forexample, the voltage reading circuit 311 may includes various switchesand a buffer for providing an input signal Vin as illustrated in FIG.7B.

Also, the amplification circuit 312 amplifies the voltage Vread readfrom the voltage reading circuit 311 and outputs the result ofamplification. The result of amplification output from the amplificationcircuit 312 may be supplied to the integration circuit 313 as a sensingsignal Vout. The amplification circuit 312 amplifies the voltage Vreadoutput from the voltage reading circuit 311 so that a change in thecapacitance of a sensing unit (not shown) may be sensed. Also, theamplification circuit 312 may include at least one amplifier forperforming an amplification operation, and the at least one amplifiermay include a plurality of amplifiers being respectively connected to aplurality of sensing lines. Alternatively, the at least one amplifier isswitched to be connected with one of the plurality of sensing lines sothat the at least one amplifier may be shared by the plurality ofsensing lines.

The integration circuit 313 may integrate the sensing signal Voutreceived from the amplification circuit 312. As described above, thesensing signal Vout output from the amplification circuit 312 maycontain a plurality of noise components, and the noise components may beeffectively removed by integrating the sensing signal Vout by theintegration circuit 313. In the current embodiment, the integrationcircuit 313 may include various types of circuits needed to receive andintegrate an input signal and output the result of integration. Theintegration circuit 313 may one of various types of integrators, e.g., aswitched capacitor integrator or a Gm-C integrator.

The ADC circuit 314 may convert an analog voltage VADC_IN received fromthe integration circuit 313 into touch data data which is a digitalsignal. Although not shown, the touch data data may be supplied toeither a signal processor included in a touch controller or a hostcontroller outside the touch controller. It is possible to determinewhether the touch screen panel is touched or a touched location on thetouch screen panel by performing an operation on the touch data data.

Referring to FIG. 9B, the touch data generator 310′ of this example usesa switched capacitor integration circuit 313A as an integration circuit.Otherwise, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, a Gm-C integration circuit 313Bmay be used as an integration circuit. In the touch data generator 310of FIG. 9B, a voltage reading circuit 311 and an amplification circuit312 operate as described above with reference to FIG. 9A and thus arenot described again here. In FIG. 9B, a capacitance component Cbgenerated in each of a plurality of sensing units denotes a wholecapacitance component that includes horizontal and vertical parasiticcapacitance components.

Referring to FIG. 9B, one amplification circuit 312 may be shared by theplurality of sensing units. When a voltage from a first sensing unit isread according to a switching operation of a first switch SW1, theremaining sensing units may be connected to an input signal Vinaccording to switching operations of a second switch SW2 to an n^(th)switch SWn, respectively. Then, similarly, a voltage of the secondsensing unit may be read and the remaining sensing units may be drivenby a driving circuit (e.g., a buffer included in the voltage readingcircuit 311). The input signal Vin may be a square-wave signal or asinusoidal-wave having a predetermined pulse cycle. The logic level orfrequency of the input signal Vin may be adjusted appropriately.

FIG. 9D is a waveform diagram illustrating an input signal Vin and atiming of turning on the switches SW1 to SWn of FIG. 9B according to anembodiment of the inventive concept. The input signal Vin may be asquare-wave signal or a sinusoidal-wave signal but FIG. 9D illustratesthat the input signal Vin is a square-wave signal. Also, as illustratedin FIG. 9D, the input signal Vin may have a predetermined rising timeand a predetermined falling time. Also, the switches SW1 to SWn may besequentially turned on not to overlap with one another. Periods of timein which the switches SW1 to SWn are respectively turned on may be equalto or greater than the pulse cycle of the input signal Vin.

In FIG. 9B, the amplification circuit 312 may output an output signalVout, the voltage level of which depends on a change in the capacitanceof a sensing unit. The value of the output signal Vout of theamplification circuit 312 may be calculated as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{V{out}} = {\frac{{V{in}} + {{sR}_{f}\lbrack {{( {C_{f} + C_{sig} + C_{b} + C_{q}} ){V{in}}} - {V_{q}C_{q}}} \rbrack}}{1 + {{sC}_{f}R_{f}}}.}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

If in Equation (5), a capacitance component Cb is completely offset,that is, when (C_(b)+C_(q))Vin−V_(q)C_(q) is satisfied, the relationshipbetween the sensing signal Vout and the input signal Vin may be definedas follows:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{V{out}}{V{in}} = {\frac{1 + {{sR}_{f}( {C_{f} + C_{sig}} )}}{1 + {{sR}_{f}C_{f}}}.}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

When an object touches a touch screen panel, a capacitance componentCsig between the touch screen panel and the object has a predeterminedintensity, and thus, a voltage of the sensing signal Vout correspondingto the capacitance component Csig may change. The amplifier AMP1 mayoutput a sensing signal Vout corresponding to the capacitance value of asensing unit in an analog manner. Whether the touch screen panel istouched and a touched location on the touch screen panel may bedetermined by sensing a change in the voltage of the sensing signalVout, caused when the touch screen panel is touched.

A noise may be contained in the sensing signal Vout output from theamplification circuit 312, and the integration circuit 313A included ina touch controller according to an embodiment of the inventive conceptmay reduce influences caused by the noise effectively. In general, noisehas a Gaussian distribution, and thus, an average of the values of noisecomponents in a predetermined section may be zero. Thus, it is possibleto effectively remove the noise from an output voltage Vout by using apredetermined integration circuit.

The integration circuit 313A may include an operation amplifier AMP3 inorder to perform an integration operation. A capacitor C2 may beconnected between a first input terminal, e.g., a negative inputterminal, and an output terminal of the operation amplifier AMP3. Aswitch RST may also be connected between the first input terminal andthe output terminal of the operating amplifier AMP3 to be parallel tothe capacitor C2.

Also, a common voltage Vcm may be applied to a second input terminal,e.g., a positive input terminal, of the operation amplifier AMP3. Thecommon voltage Vcm may correspond to an intermediate level of voltageinput to the ADC circuit 314.

Also, a plurality of switches φ1 and φ2 and a capacitor C1 may beconnected to the first input terminal, e.g., the negative inputterminal, of the operation amplifier AMP3. An integration operation maybe performed based on switching operations of the switches φ1 and φ2 anda charging operation of the capacitor C1. The output voltage Vout of theamplification circuit 312 may be supplied to the inside of theintegration circuit 313A via a predetermined buffer.

FIG. 9E is a waveform diagram of various signals supplied to the touchcontroller according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. A commonvoltage Vcm having a predetermined level may be applied, and an inputsignal Vin and a voltage signal Vq supplied to a capacitor Cq may have apredetermined frequency and a voltage having an intermediate levelcorresponding the common voltage Vcm. For example, FIG. 9E illustrates acase where the input signal Vin and the voltage signal Vq are generatedin synchronization with a horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC. Thevoltage signal Vq may be controlled using values of the resistors Rq1and Rq2 connected to amplifier AMP2, and influences caused by acapacitance component Cb generated in a sensing unit may be reduced byadjusting the logic level of the voltage signal Vq.

FIG. 9F is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of theintegration circuit 313A of FIG. 9B according to an embodiment of theinventive concept. As illustrated in FIG. 9F, two switches φ1 may becontrolled in the same way and the remaining switches φ2 may becontrolled in the same way. First, the switches φ1 may be turned on at atime t1, and the capacitor C1 may thus be charged with the differencebetween the input signal Vin and the output voltage Vout.

While a predetermined voltage is charged in the capacitor C1, theswitches φ1 may be turned off and the remaining switches φ2 may beturned on at a time t2. In this case, the operation amplifier AMP3 mayperform an integration operation so that a voltage of the first inputterminal, e.g., a negative input terminal, of the amplifier AMP3 mayfollow a voltage of the second input terminal, e.g., a positive inputterminal, thereof. Thus, an integration voltage VADC_IN may increase ordecrease according to the difference between the output voltage Vout andthe input signal Vin. When the output voltage Vout is entirelyintegrated, the result of integration may not fall within the dynamicrange of the ADC circuit 314, and thus, according to an embodiment ofthe inventive concept, a voltage ‘Vout−Vin’ may be integrated accordingto time, as illustrated in FIG. 9B. Thus, the result of integrating thevoltage ‘Vout−Vin’ may be less than or greater than the common voltageVcm. That is, a voltage of an input signal supplied to the ADC circuit314 is set to be less than or greater than the common voltage Vcm, andthus, an output of the ADC circuit 314 may be averaged, thereby removinga low-frequency noise effectively.

FIG. 9G is a graph showing a variation in an integration voltage VADC_INof the integration circuit 313A of FIG. 9B according to embodiment ofthe inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 9G, the integration voltageVADC_IN may be output to be less than or greater than the common voltageVcm. For example, if the output voltage Vout is greater than a voltageof the input signal Vin, the integration voltage VADC_IN may be greaterthan the common voltage Vcm, and if the output voltage Vout is less thanthe voltage of the input signal Vin, the integration voltage VADC_IN maybe less than the common voltage Vcm. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 9G,the integration voltage VADC_IN is not influenced by noise, and thus, acontroller (not shown) may easily determine whether a touch screen panelis touched by setting a threshold appropriately.

FIG. 10A is a circuit diagram of an integration circuit 313C that isanother embodiment of the integration circuit 313A included in the touchdata generator 310 of FIG. 9B, according to the inventive concept.Referring to FIG. 10A, the integration circuit 313C uses a referencesignal Vref as an input signal instead of the input signal Vin used inthe embodiment of FIG. 9B. The integration circuit 313C of FIG. 10A is aswitched capacitor integration circuit but it may be embodied as a Gm-Cintegration circuit.

FIG. 10B is a waveform diagram of an output voltage Vout and thereference signal Vref used in the integration circuit 313C of FIG. 10A,and an input signal Vin, according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept. The reference signal Vref may be embodied as a square-wavesignal or a sinusoidal-wave signal as the input signal Vin, and anamplitude of the reference signal Vref may be greater than that of theinput signal Vin.

Referring to FIG. 10B(a), the amplitude of the reference signal Vref maybe set to correspond to an intermediate level of an inclined section ofthe output voltage Vout, so that an integration voltage VADC_IN whentouching is not made may approximate nearly a common voltage Vcm. Also,FIG. 10B(b) reveals if reference signal Vref is used instead of theinput signal Vin, then the integration voltage VADC_IN when touching isnot made approximates more the common voltage Vcm. Thus, sensingsensitivity may be improved greatly by increasing the difference of theintegration voltages VADC_IN between when touching is not made and whentouching is made.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a touch controller 400 according toanother embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 11, thetouch controller 400 includes elements for performing operations togenerate touch data. For example, the touch controller 400 includes avoltage reading circuit 410, a first amplification circuit 420, a firstanti-aliasing filter (AAF) 430, an integration circuit 440, and an ADC450. The touch controller 400 may further include a second amplificationcircuit 470 that has the same or similar characteristics as the firstamplification circuit 420, and a second AAF 480 that has the same orsimilar characteristics as the first AAF 430. A main signal path isformed using the first amplification circuit 420 and the first AAF 430,and a sub signal path is formed using the second amplification circuit470 and the second AAF 480.

When the capacitance of a sensing unit (not shown) changes, an outputvoltage corresponding to the change in the capacitance is generatedusing the voltage reading circuit 410 and the first amplificationcircuit 420. The output voltage output from the first amplificationcircuit 420 may pass through the first AAF 430. Touch data datagenerated by the ADC 450 may pass through a digital filter 460 in asubsequent operation. In this case, before passing through the digitalfilter 460, the touch data data may pass through an AAF so that ahigh-frequency component may be removed from the touch data data. Tothis end, the first AAF 430 may be disposed between the firstamplification circuit 420 and the integration circuit 440.

A plurality of signals that indicate a change in the capacitances of aplurality of sensing units (not shown), respectively, are suppliedsequentially to the voltage reading circuit 410. In order to sense achange in the capacitances of the plurality of sensing units, aplurality of pulse signals each having a particular frequencycorresponding to one of the plurality of sensing units are supplied tothe voltage reading circuit 410. The second amplification circuit 470and the second AAF 480 may be further included in the touch controller200 in order to extract only an actual signal component from an outputof the first AAF 430. Also, a pulse signal, e.g., an input signal Vin,the phase of which is the same as that of a pulse signal supplied tofirst amplification circuit 420 is supplied to the second amplificationcircuit 470. Although not shown, a voltage of the sensing unit isapplied to one input terminal of an amplifier included in the firstamplification circuit 420, where an amplifier included in the secondamplification circuit 470 may have a structure in which one inputterminal is connected to an output terminal. The difference between anoutput of the first AAF 430 and an output of the second AAF 480 iscalculated by a predetermined subtractor, and thus, only an actualsignal component is supplied to the integration circuit 440.

The frequencies of pulse signals supplied to the elements of the touchcontroller 400 of FIG. 11 may be synchronized with a line scan frequencyof a display (not shown) in order to minimize frequency interferencesduring a displaying operation. For example, the input signal Vinsupplied to the voltage reading circuit 410 may also be supplied to thefirst amplification circuit 420, the second amplification circuit 470and the integration circuit 440. Also, a voltage signal, the phase ofwhich is equal or similar to the phase of the input signal Vin and theamplitude of which is different from the amplitude of the input signalVin, may be supplied to the first amplification circuit 420, the secondamplification circuit 470, and the integration circuit 440.

FIG. 12A is a block diagram of a general LCD 500A that includes aplurality of touch controllers T/C according to an embodiment of theinventive concept. Referring to FIG. 12A, the LCD 500A may include atiming controller 510A that controls the overall timing for displayingan image and a voltage generator 520A that generates various voltagesfor driving the LCD 500A. The LCD 500A may further include a displaypanel 550A, at least one gate driver 530A that drives a gate line of thedisplay panel 550A, and at least one source driver 540A that drives asource line of the display panel 550A. Each of the touch controllers T/Cmay receive timing information from the timing controller 510A. Thus,the touch controllers T/C may be included in the at least one gatedriver 530A or the at least one source driver 540A, respectively. FIG.12A illustrates that the touch controllers T/C are included, forexample, in the at least one source driver 540A, respectively. Thetiming information transmitted from the timing controller 510A to thesource driver 540A may be supplied simultaneously to the touchcontrollers T/C included in the at least one source driver 540A. Thetouch controllers T/C sense a capacitance value of a sensing unit of atouch screen panel (not shown) that may be attached to the display panel550A, and generate touch data from the timing information received fromthe timing controller 510A.

FIG. 12B is a block diagram of a general LCD 500B that includes a touchcontroller T/C according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.Referring to FIG. 12B, in the LCD 500B, the touch controller T/C isincluded in a timing controller 510B. In this case, the touch controllerT/C may receive timing information directly in the timing controller510B. Although not shown, the touch controller T/C may be electricallyconnected to a touch screen panel that may be attached to a displaypanel 550B, and thus may sense a change in the capacitance of a sensingunit of the touch screen panel and generate touch data according to thechange in the capacitance.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit (IC) 600, in which atouch controller 610 and a display driving unit 630 are integratedtogether, according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. In FIG.13, the IC 600 is embodied as a semiconductor chip that communicateswith a host controller 650. The semiconductor chip 600 includes thetouch controller 610 as described above in the previous embodiments, andthe display driving unit 630 that acts as a display driving circuit.Since the touch controller 610 and the display driving unit 630 areintegrated together in the same semiconductor chip 600, manufacturingcosts may be saved. Also, a sensing signal output from the touchcontroller 610 and a signal output from the display driving unit 630 maybe synchronized with each other, thereby reducing influences caused bynoise generated during a touch screen operation.

The touch controller 610 may be constructed in various ways in order toperform the touch screen operation. For example, the touch controller610 may include a readout circuit 611 that generates touch data, aparasitic capacitance compensation circuit 612 that reduces a parasiticcapacitance component in a sensing unit, an ADC 613 that converts analogdata into a digital signal, a supply voltage generator 614 thatgenerates a supply voltage, a memory unit 615, an MCU 616, a digital FIRLPF 617, an oscillator 618 that generates a low-power oscillationsignal, an interface unit 619 that exchanges a signal with the hostcontroller 650, and a control logic unit 620. The display driving unit630 may include a source driver 631 that generates gray-scale data for adisplaying operation, a gray-scale voltage generator 632, a displaymemory 633 that stores display data, a timing control logic unit 634,and a power generator 635 that generates at least one supply voltage.The display driving unit 630 may further include a central processing(CPU) and RGB interface unit 636 that controls the overall operations ofthe display driving unit 630 or performs an interface with the hostcontroller 650.

The touch controller 610 may receive at least one piece of timinginformation Timing info from the display driving unit 630. For example,the control logic unit 620 of the touch controller 610 receives varioustiming information VSYCN, HSYCN, and Dotclk to be synchronized with adisplay output signal from the timing control logic unit 634 of thedisplay driving unit 630. The control logic unit 620 may generate acontrol signal for controlling a timing of generating the touch data,from the at least one piece of timing information Timing info.

The display driving unit 630 may also receive at least one piece ofinformation from the touch controller 610. Referring to FIG. 13, thedisplay driving unit 630 may receive a status signal, e.g., a sleepstatus signal, from the touch controller 610. The display driving unit630 receives the sleep status signal from the touch controller 610 andperforms an operation corresponding to the sleep status signal. If thetouch controller 610 enters a sleep mode, it means that touching has notbeen made for a predetermined time. In this case, the display drivingunit 630 may discontinue supplying the timing information Timing info tothe touch controller 610. Therefore, it is possible to save powerconsumption in a device, e.g., a mobile device, in which thesemiconductor chip 600 is installed.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 13, each of the touch controller 610 andthe display driving unit 630 includes a circuit block that generatespower, a memory that stores predetermined data, and a control unit thatcontrols the operations of the remaining blocks. Thus, if the touchcontroller 610 and the display driving unit 630 are integrated togetherin the same semiconductor chip, then the memory, the circuit block, andthe control unit may be embodied to be used commonly by the touchcontroller 610 and the display driving unit 330.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate an interrelation between a touch controllerand a display driving unit as illustrated in FIG. 13. Referring to FIG.14A, a semiconductor chip 600 that drives a display device (not shown)may include the touch controller (including the memory, AFE, MCU andcontrol logic as shown for example) and the display driving unit(including the power generator, output driver, control logic and displaymemory as shown for example), and the touch controller and the displaydriving unit may exchange at least one piece of information, e.g.,timing information and status information, with each other. Also, eachof the touch controller and the display driving unit may supply a supplyvoltage to the other or may receive the supply voltage from the other.FIG. 14A schematically illustrates the touch controller and the displaydriving unit for convenience of explanation, in which an analog frontend (AFE) included in the touch controller may include a voltage readingcircuit, an amplification circuit, an integration circuit, and an ADC. Acase where the touch controller provides sleep status information to thedisplay driving unit and the display driving unit applies the supplyvoltage to the touch controller according to an embodiment of theinventive concept, will now be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 14B, if a display is turned off and a touch inputis deactivated, i.e., if both the touch controller and the display entera sleep mode, then the display driving unit prevents a supply voltage ortiming information from being supplied to the touch controller. In thiscase, only a register included in the display driving unit may beactivated, thereby minimizing power consumption.

If the touch input is deactivated and the display is activated, i.e., ifthe touch controller enters the sleep mode and the display enters anormal mode, then the display driving unit generates the supply voltageto be used therein but the supply voltage is not applied to the touchcontroller since the touch controller does not consume power. Also, thedisplay driving unit does not provide the timing information to thetouch controller.

If the touch input is activated and the display is deactivated, i.e., ifthe touch controller enters the normal node and the display enters thesleep mode, then it is periodically checked whether touching is madesince the touch input is activated. In this case, the display drivingunit is kept deactivated while operating in a low-power consumptionmode. However, in order to check whether touching is made, the displaydriving unit generates the timing information and the supply voltage tobe applied to the touch controller and supply them to the touchcontroller.

In general, when both the touch input and the display are activated,i.e., if both the touch controller and the display enter the normalmode, then the display driving unit generates the timing information andthe supply voltage and applies them to the touch controller.

It is concluded from the above four cases that the supply voltagegenerator of the display driving unit may generate a supply voltage whenat least one of the touch controller and the display driving unit isactivated. Also, a control logic unit of the display driving unit maygenerate the timing information and supply it to the touch controlleronly when the touch controller operates.

FIGS. 15A to 15C illustrate embodiments of a printed circuit board (PCB)structure of a display device 700 that includes a touch panel 720,according to the inventive concept. Here, the touch panel 720 and adisplay panel 740 are disposed apart from each other.

Referring to FIG. 15A, the display device 700 may include a window glass710, the touch panel 720, and the display panel 740. A polarizing plate730 may be disposed between the touch panel 720 and the display panel740 for an optical characteristic.

In general, the window glass 710 is formed of acryl or tempered glassand protects a module from external impacts or scratches caused byrepeated touches. The touch panel 720 is formed by patterningtransparent electrodes, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes,on a glass substrate or a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. A touchscreen controller 721 may be mounted on a flexible printed circuit board(FPCB) in the form of a chip on board (COB), and senses a change in thecapacitance of each of the electrodes, extracts the coordinates of atouching point, and provides the coordinates of the touching point to ahost controller (not shown). In general, the display panel 740 ismanufactured by putting two pieces of glass, i.e., an upper glass plateand a lower glass plate, together. Also, in general, the display drivingcircuit 741 is attached to a mobile display panel in the form of a chipon glass (COG).

FIG. 15B illustrates another embodiment of the PCB structure of thedisplay device 700 that includes a touch panel 720, according to theinventive concept. Referring to FIG. 15B, a touch controller 721 may bedisposed on a main board 760 and a voltage signal transmitted from asensing unit (not shown) may be exchanged between the touch panel 720and the touch controller 721 via an FPCB. A display driving circuit 741may be mounted on a display panel 740 in the form of a COG asillustrated in FIG. 15A. The display driving circuit 741 may beelectrically connected to the main board 760 via the FPCB. That is, thetouch controller 721 and the display driving circuit 741 may exchangevarious information and signals with each other via the main board 760.

FIG. 15C illustrates another embodiment of the PCB structure of thedisplay device 700, in which a touch controller and a display drivingunit are integrated together in the same semiconductor chip 751,according to the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 15C, the displaydevice 700 may include a window glass 710, a touch panel 720, apolarizing plate 730, and a display panel 740. In particular, thesemiconductor chip 751 may be mounted on a display panel 740 in the formof COG. The touch panel 720 and the semiconductor chip 751 may beelectrically connected to each other via an FPCB.

FIG. 15D illustrates the panel structure of the display device 700illustrated in FIG. 15A, 15B, or 15C, according to an embodiment of theinventive concept. FIG. 15D illustrates an organic light-emitting diode(OLED) as the display device 700. Referring to FIG. 15D, a sensing unitmay be formed by patterning a transparent electrode, e.g., an ITO(sensor) and may be formed on a glass plate separated apart from adisplay panel. The glass plate on which the sensing unit is disposed maybe separated apart from a window glass via a predetermined air gap orresin, and may be separated apart from an upper glass plate and a lowerglass plate that constitute the display panel via a polarizing plate.

FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate embodiments of a PCB structure of a displaydevice 800, in which a touch panel and a display panel are unitedtogether, according to the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 16A, thedisplay device 800 may include a window glass 810, a display panel 820,and a polarizing plate 830. In particular, the touch panel may befabricated by patterning transparent electrodes on an upper glass plateof the display panel 820 rather than on an additional glass plate. FIG.16A illustrates that a plurality of sensing units SU are arranged on theupper glass plate of the display panel 820. Although not shown, when apanel structure is fabricated as described above, a touch controller anda display driving circuit may be integrated together in the samesemiconductor chip 821.

If the touch controller and the display driving circuit may beintegrated together in the same semiconductor chip 821, then a voltagesignal T_sig and image data I_data are supplied to the semiconductorchip 821 from each of the sensing units SU and an external host,respectively. Also, the semiconductor chip 821 processes the image dataI_data, generates gray-scale data (not shown) for actually driving thedisplay device 800, and supplies the gray-scale data to the displaypanel 820. To this end, the semiconductor chip 821 may include padsrelated to touch data and pads related to the image data I_data and thegray-scale data. The semiconductor chip 821 receives the voltage signalT_sig from each of the sensing units SU via a conductive line connectedto one side of the touch panel. When the pads are arranged on thesemiconductor chip 821, the pad for receiving the voltage signal T_sigmay be located adjacent to the conductive line for delivering thevoltage signal T_sig in order to reduce noise in data. Although notshown in FIG. 16A, if the conductive line for supplying the gray-scaledata to the display panel 820 is disposed to be opposite to a conductiveline for supplying a touch data voltage signal T_sig, then the pad forproviding the gray-scale data may also be located to be opposite to padsfor receiving the voltage signal T_sig.

The display device 800 of FIG. 16B has a construction similar to that ofthe display device of FIG. 16A. Referring to FIG. 16B, a voltage signaltransmitted from a sensing unit is supplied directly to a semiconductorchip 821 via a conductive line rather than via an FPCB.

The display device 800 of FIG. 16C also has a construction similar tothat of the display device of FIG. 16A. However, referring to FIG. 16C,in the display device 800, a signal path in which a voltage signaltransmitted from a sensing unit to a semiconductor chip 821 is differentfrom in the display device of FIG. 16A. In the current embodiment, a padfor receiving the voltage signal from the sensing unit is disposedclosest to a conductive line from among a plurality of pads arranged onthe semiconductor chip 821.

FIG. 16D illustrates the panel structure of the display device 800illustrated in FIG. 16A, 16B, or 16C, according to another embodiment ofthe inventive concept. In a display device according to an embodiment ofthe inventive concept, a touch panel and a display panel may beeffectively united together. Referring to FIG. 16D, an OLED is embodiedas the display device 800. In the current embodiment, a sensing unit isfabricated by forming a transparent electrode, e.g., an ITO (sensor),directly on an upper glass plate of the display panel, rather than on anadditional glass plate or on a PET film. In this case, a touch displaypanel may be fabricated while reducing manufacturing costs and modulethickness, but the distance between the transparent electrode and a topglass of the display device 800 becomes small, thereby increasing avertical parasitic capacitance component in the sensing unit. However,according to the above embodiments, it is possible to reduce influences,caused by the whole parasitic capacitance components including avertical parasitic capacitance component generated in a sensing unit.Accordingly, as described above, the touch panel and the display panelmay be united together effectively.

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate the structure of a semiconductor chip thatincludes a touch controller and a display driving circuit unit, and thestructure of an FPCB according to embodiments of the inventive concept.The semiconductor chip includes pads for transmitting and receivingsignals related to the touch controller and pads for transmitting andreceiving signals related to the display driving circuit unit. The padsmay be electrically connected to a touch panel, a display panel, and ahost controller via connection terminals of the FPCB. When thesemiconductor chip is fabricated, a region in which the touch controlleris located may be separated apart from a region in which the displaydriving circuit unit is located. When the connection terminals arearranged in the FPCB, connection terminals connected to the signalsrelated to the touch controller and connection terminals connected tothe signals related to the display driving circuit unit may be disposedto correspond to the pads of the semiconductor chip.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate embodiments of a display device having asemiconductor chip in which a touch controller and a display drivingcircuit are included, according to the inventive concept. Specifically,FIG. 18A illustrates that the semiconductor chip is disposed on a glassplate of a display panel in the form of COG, and FIG. 18B illustratesthat the semiconductor chip is disposed on a film of a display panel inthe form of chip on film (COF). In general, when the touch controllerand the display driving circuit are disposed on different chips, thetouch controller may be disposed in the form of COF and the displaydriving circuit may be disposed in the form of COG, but in anotherembodiment according to the inventive concept, the semiconductor chipthat includes the touch controller and the display driving circuit mayhave a COG or COF structure.

While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodthat various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit comprising: a displaydriving unit configured to drive a display panel; and a touch controllerconfigured to detect an electrical change of sensing units, wherein thedisplay driving unit and the touch controller are included in the samesemiconductor chip, and wherein the display driving unit and the touchcontroller share timing information.
 2. The integrated circuit of claim1, wherein the display driving includes: a source driver configured togenerate gray-scale data for a displaying operation; and a displaymemory configured to store display data.
 3. The integrated circuit ofclaim 1, wherein the display driving unit includes a power generatorconfigured to supply power voltage to the touch controller.
 4. Theintegrated circuit of claim 2, wherein the timing information includesat least one of a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontalsynchronization signal.
 5. The integrated circuit of claim 4, whereinthe touch controller is configured to transmit status information of thetouch controller to the display driving unit.
 6. The integrated circuitof claim 3, wherein the touch controller periodically checks theelectrical change of the sensing units while the touch controller is ina normal mode and the display driving unit is deactivated, and thedisplay driving unit supplies the power voltage while the touchcontroller is in the normal mode and the display driving unit isdeactivated.
 7. The integrated circuit of claim 4, wherein the displaydriving unit is configured to stop supplying the timing information tothe touch controller when the touch controller enters into a sleep mode.8. An integrated circuit comprising: a display driving unit configuredto drive a display panel, the display driving unit including: a gatedriver; a source driver; and a timing controller configured to controlthe gate driver and the source driver; and a touch controller including:a touch data generator configured to detect sensing signals of sensingunits of a touch screen, and to generate touch data based on the sensingsignals; and a signal processor configured to determine whether thetouch screen is touched or not, based on the touch data, wherein thedisplay driving unit and the touch controller are included in the samesemiconductor chip, and the display driving unit and the touchcontroller share timing information.
 9. The integrated circuit of claim8, wherein the display driving includes a source driver configured togenerate gray-scale data for a displaying operation.
 10. The integratedcircuit of claim 8, wherein the timing controller is configured totransmit the timing information to the touch controller.
 11. Theintegrated circuit of claim 8, wherein the signal processor isconfigured to generate a control signal based on the timing information,and to transmit the control signal to the touch data generator, and thetouch data generator is configured to generate the touch data inresponse to the control signal.
 12. The integrated circuit of claim 8,wherein the touch controller is configured to receive the timinginformation from an external device.
 13. The integrated circuit of claim10, wherein the timing information includes at least one of a verticalsynchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal.
 14. Theintegrated circuit of claim 11, wherein the touch controller isconfigured to transmit status information of the touch controller to thedisplay driving unit.
 15. The integrated circuit of claim 12, whereinthe touch controller and the display driving unit are configured toreceive the timing information from the external device.
 16. Theintegrated circuit of claim 13, wherein the display driving unitincludes a power generator configured to supply power voltage to thetouch controller.
 17. The integrated circuit of claim 14, wherein thestatus information is a sleep status signal.
 18. An integrated circuitcomprising: a display driving unit configured to drive a display panel,the display driving unit including: a gate driver; a source driver; anda timing controller configured to control the gate driver and the sourcedriver; and a touch controller including: an amplification circuitconfigured to detect an electrical change of sensing units and togenerate a sensing signal; and an analog-to-digital converter configuredto receive the sensing signal and to convert the sensing signal into adigital signal, wherein the display driving unit and the touchcontroller are included in the same semiconductor chip, and the displaydriving unit and the touch controller share timing information.
 19. Theintegrated circuit of claim 18, wherein the amplification circuitincludes an amplifier, a capacitor connected in parallel with theamplifier, and the register connected in parallel with the capacitor.20. The integrated circuit of claim 18, wherein the amplifier includes afirst terminal configured to receive the electrical change of sensingunits and a second terminal configured to receive an input signal havinga predetermined frequency.
 21. The integrated circuit of claim 20,wherein the display driving unit is configured to transmit the timinginformation to the touch controller.
 22. The integrated circuit of claim20, wherein the timing information includes at least one of a verticalsynchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal.
 23. Anintegrated circuit comprising: a display driving unit configured todrive a display panel; and a touch controller configured to be connectedto a plurality of sensing lines including a first sensing line,configured to drive a first signal onto the first sensing line, andconfigured to supply a second signal onto at least one of the pluralityof sensing lines, wherein a voltage of the first signal and a voltage ofthe second signal are substantially the same, wherein the displaydriving unit and the touch controller are included in the samesemiconductor chip, and wherein the display driving unit and the touchcontroller share timing information.
 24. The integrated circuit of claim23, wherein the touch data generator comprises a first amplifierincluding a first amplifier input terminal configured to be connected tothe first sensing line and a second input terminal configured to receivean amplifier input signal, and the first signal is driven onto the firstsensing line via the first amplifier.
 25. The integrated circuit ofclaim 24, wherein the first amplifier is configured to drive the firstsignal onto the first sensing line in response to the amplifier inputsignal, and the second signal is the amplifier input signal.